


Harlequin of Hearts

by MisterDrBob



Category: Fatal Fury, Final Fantasy VII, King of Fighters, Persona 5, Super Smash Brothers
Genre: Mystery, ShuMako Week 2020
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22312651
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MisterDrBob/pseuds/MisterDrBob
Summary: It's that special time of year when love is celebrated above all things: Valentine's Day. And this year, Master Hand has something special in mind for the fighters. But something goes very wrong, and it's up to Queen to get to the bottom of things with the help of some fellow badass ladies.
Relationships: Amamiya Ren/Niijima Makoto, Terry Bogard/Blue Mary, Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 1
Kudos: 33
Collections: ShuMako Week 2020





	1. Poe's Masquerade

**Author's Note:**

> I had the initial idea for this when brainstorming for my work on the Royal Accounts fanzine, and I liked it too much to just drop it. So here, for ShuMako Week 2019's Day 6 (Movies/Games/Video Games), I give you the crossover nobody asked for, but hopefully everybody likes!

Joker wasn’t normally the type to be nervous. He’d infiltrated palaces, stolen hearts, killed a god. You know, the usual stuff. And then he’d been invited to this bizarre Super Smash Bros. thing—er, rather, he’d stolen the invitation. Nobody seemed to be complaining about that, though. Since arriving in the tournament or club or whatever it was, he’d now gone up against more gods, dragons, space aliens, warriors and heroes, and plumbers. In other words, Joker had pretty much seen it all.

So why was this so nerve wracking?

“Something bugging you?” A gravely voice asked. Joker stopped his pacing to see Snake leaning against a wall, smoking a cigarette directly under the NO SMOKING sign in the hallway.

“Just excited,” Joker replied. He noticed the subtle expression Snake wore. “Aren’t you going?”

“Those kind of events aren’t for people like me. I’m historically not good for women.”

Joker had read up on Snake and the other combatants when he’d had time. The file hadn’t gone much into Snake’s life outside of the events that some far-off dimension perceived as video games. One or two romantic relationships here and there, both of which didn’t last, and both of which were generally shrouded in mystery.

“Don’t you get lonely?” Joker asked, leaning against the wall beside his friend. Snake held his breath and blew a delicate smoke ring.

“Loneliness is just a fact of life. I’ve learned when not to drag people into it. Besides, I’ve got friends.”

“Most of whom have tried to sell you out or kill you at some point,” Joker pointed out.

“That’s just the business,” Snake said, not quite laughing. “Besides, there are a few good ones too. Otacon, Sunny, Mei Ling…”

The pair stood in silence. The brief conversation had taken Joker’s mind off his jitteriness, but as the time drew near, it was returning.

“You’d better go meet her,” Snake said, putting out his cigarette. “The portals will be opening soon.”

“Thanks,” Joker said. “I’ll catch you later.”

The fighters in the Super Smash Bros. tournament were provided with top-of-the-line accommodations. It wasn’t so much a mansion as it was a small town. Dimensional flotsam and jetsam crowded into one building that by all rights shouldn’t have been big enough to hold it all. And yet, there was always room for more. The walk to the main foyer had never seemed longer.

Joker wasn’t the first to arrive, but he would clearly not be the last. A small crowd of spectators had gathered, watching the giant white glove do his thing.

“THrooooOOOOWWWwww the sWItch!” Crazy Hand bellowed. 

Ah yes, Crazy Hand.

Where Master Hand was relatively consistent, Crazy Hand could be in any number of moods or personalities from moment to moment, generally on the more manic side. At this second, it seemed that he was acting the part of the mad scientist, performing dangerous experiments to shatter the fabric of reality.

“There is no switch, Crazy,” Master Hand sighed. “Can you please just focus and follow my lead?”

The two gloves mimicked each other, making an arcane series of motions and symbols. Doors of light appeared out of thin air, opening to allow their passengers into the world of Smash.

He spotted her instantly. Her short brown hair framing the stern iron mask, the dark bodysuit that accentuated her hips and bust just so, the black scarf. 

Queen had arrived.

Everybody was busy greeting their own guests, so nobody paid Joker much mind as he tried to look casual strolling up to the intimidating brawler.

“Queen,” he said, trying not to betray anything too embarrassing. She was clearly fighting to do the same.

“Joker,” she replied, blushing a little. The world went silent, although there was clearly still sounds all around them. In unison, they lifted their masks and leaned into a passionate kiss.

“I’ve missed you, Mako,” Ren whispered as they embraced.

“Me too,” Makoto said soothingly. “I’m so proud of you. We all are.”

“I’m so glad you could make it,” he said. “I didn’t know what I’d do if I wasn’t going to be able to go to this thing.”

“I’m sure you could have figured something out,” Makoto said modestly. “With this many interesting people around?”

“None of them are as fun or interesting as you,” Ren whispered conspiratorially into her ear in that way that made her shudder and get weak in the knees.

“Shall we go greet some of the other couples?” Makoto said hastily, her face flushed.

“Sure,” Ren agreed, taking her by the hand. “Thank goodness nobody too nasty has a significant other coming.

“I bet we could take them,” Makoto playfully bragged.

“You’re probably right,” Ren laughed. “Come on, I want you to meet the Mario brothers.”

Mario and Luigi were across the foyer, having attended to help greet the new guests with their own significant others.

“Oh Joker!” Peach cried in greeting, waving daintily. “This must be Queen! So excited to meet you, dear!”

“The honor is all mine, Princess Peach,” Makoto said, bowing respectfully.

“Oh please, Queen, just Peach,” the princess laughed, waving the formality away. “We’re all friends here!”

“Seriously,” the brunette accompanying Luigi said enthusiastically. “I don’t think anyone even calls me Princess anymore, it’s just Daisy!”

The small group continued to exchange pleasantries. Mario and Luigi were as friendly as always, and Ren was grateful that he’d been able to introduce Makoto to them first. Awkward as she was, Makoto was going to need all the support she could get in order to feel as though she fit in.

Link and Zelda had likewise shown up to greet guests, but they were busy talking with a woman in a pink and white bodysuit who seemed to be a guest of Captain Falcon. Pac-Man was energetically emoting with…another Pac-Man who also had a bow and eyelashes.

“Hey dude!” A voice called to Joker along with a gentle punch to the shoulder. Joker turned to see Ken with a beautiful young woman.

“Ken,” Joker said, smiling. “This must be Eliza.”

Eliza smiled warmly as she shook hands with Joker and Queen.

“When I married a fighter, I knew he’d be off to some amazing places, but I never expected anything like this,” she said in awe.

“So no guest for Ryu, huh?” Joker asked Ken. The fighter’s response was a resigned shrug.

“Master Hand is weirdly specific about stuff like this, I guess,” he said. “I tried to convince him to invite Chun-Li, so that maybe she and Ryu would _finally_ open their eyes, but no dice.”

The conversation was derailed by one unhappy arrival.

“Sonic! You were supposed to welcome me!” A young girl’s voice whined as a pink hedgehog raced by. “I’m your guest!”

As if on cue, a gust of wind and a blue flash signaled the arrival of Sonic the Hedgehog.

“I didn’t invite you, Master Hand did,” Sonic said, arrogantly rubbing his nose.

“He invited me to be your guest!” The girl said, stomping her foot. “And you still owe me for that fiasco at Twinkle Park!”

“Aw Amy, you’re still going on about that?”

“CUTE COUPLES GOT IN FREE! I bet we could’ve won a contest or something!” Amy shouted, puling out a giant hammer.

The young hedgehogs’ bickering was drowned out by Master Hand and Crazy Hand clapping themselves together to get everyone’s attention.

“Thank you all for offering such a warm welcome to our guests!” Master Hand began. “And thank you to our guests for making such an unusual journey! This is the first time we’ve attempted something like this, but as you all are undoubtedly aware, there’s nothing more powerful than love.”

There was a murmur of agreement among the throng. A couple of stolen looks and squeezed hands between the various couples.

“So, without further ado…happy Valentine’s Day!” Master Hand shouted as he snapped his fingers. The foyer was instantly filled with tables covered in red and pink tablecloths, heart shaped balloons floating near the doors, a stage towards the front of the room, and a full bar at the back.

Joker and Queen milled about, engaging in light chatter with the various guests. The Hero King Marth and his queen Caeda were quite friendly, as were Shulk and Fiora. Queen had never seen so many unusual people, a surprising fact given all that she had seen in the Metaverse.

Many of the guests were capable fighters in their own right, but there were the odd few who weren’t. Eliza seemed to be in this latter category, as was a girl named Annette, and a small alien woman who was wearing a round glass helmet and chatting in a strange language with a nearly identical alien man who was presumably her husband.

“That’s Olimar,” Joker whispered to Queen. “Odd little guy, but nice enough. He fights using those little creatures. They’re called Pikmin.”

Makoto was reminded vaguely of using Personas, but this was obviously very different. The Pikmin were bustling around, looking for whatever crumbs of food they could find. If Makoto was being honest with herself, it seemed a bit gross. Olimar seemed to agree as he gave a short toot on his whistle, bringing the Pikmin to attention. With a gesture and another blow of the whistle, the Pikmin were sent away.

“Cor blimey! I love yer outfit! How’d you get the spikes on the shoulders?”

Queen was surprised by the sudden address. She turned around to see a cheerful girl about her own age wearing the simple clothes of a peasant, with a vibrant bandana covering her long blonde hair.

“Oh…I didn’t really make it, exactly,” Queen stammered.

“I’m rubbish at making and mending clothes myself,” the girl said sympathetically. “Real shame, since most of the girls in my village are expected to know that sort of thing.”

“Seems kind of a backwards place,” Queen said, unthinkingly. The girl did not seem offended however.

“It’s quiet and traditional, that’s for sure,” she said. “But it’s lovely. For one thing, I got to spend my time there growing up with this one,” she pointed at her partner, a young man with shoulder-length hair wearing a purple outfit. He seemed quiet and reserved, and fittingly enough, his conversation partner was Link.

“Oh, so you’re Hero’s sweetheart,” Joker said. “He’s told me a lot about you.”

“Gemma’s the name,” the girl said with a smile and a bow. “Pleased to meet you!”

Gemma was a pleasant conversationalist. Makoto felt at ease with her instantly. Hero, or Eleven as he also seemed to be called, joined them and was also pleasant, but less loquacious than the free-spirited Gemma.

“I’m going to get a drink from the bar,” Queen said. “Want me to grab you something?”

“Sure,” Joker nodded. “I’m not picky, I’ll probably like whatever you’re having.”

Queen gave him a quick peck on the cheek and left Joker to his just-started chat with Richter and Annette.

Something was wrong, but Queen couldn’t quite put her finger on it. Everyone was friendly, even if she couldn’t quite believe her eyes half the time. Most of these fighters were human, but there were a few who weren’t like the Kongs, Fox and Krystal, Olimar and his wife, and whatever Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man were.

She was watching the Wii Fit Trainers stretching in the corner when she realized that she’d been standing at the bar without having realized it.

“Long day?” The bartender asked. At least, Makoto assumed she was the bartender as she was standing behind the bar, but she didn’t quite look like she was staff per se.

“A bit weird,” Makoto said. “It’s a lot to take in.”

“I know,” the young woman said. “Not how I pictured my next romantic evening. Can I get you a drink?”

“Do you have anything that’s non-alcoholic?”

“Looks like they’ve got all kinds of sodas, sparkling water, non-alcoholic wines, that sort of thing. Any of that sound good?”

Makoto didn’t answer her right away. She’d caught herself looking out into this bizarre crowd again. Some of these people were just children of various ages. Two smaller children wearing parkas, some slightly older-looking children who seemed quite ordinary—until the display of psychic powers— some pre-teens who chatted eagerly about their Pokémon partners, and a younger version of Link who was being berated by a sassy pirate lass.

“Something else on your mind?” The young woman asked sympathetically.

“I don’t know,” Makoto said, surprising herself. “I’m just surprised by how unique each of these couples are.”

“I know, the young ones in particular seem so innocent, so carefree,” her new friend said, somewhat wistfully. “I think that’s love in its purest form. The kind that makes a promise and intends to keep it.”

“Maybe,” Makoto said softly. What was wrong with her? Why was she suddenly feeling inadequate? Her relationship with Ren wasn’t lacking in any way, so why did being among these people who were married, or simply sweet on each other, make her feel so uncertain?

Her train of thought was interrupted by the arrival of a tomboyish young woman with short blonde hair, baggy blue pants, and a very small red top.

“Scotch rocks,” she said cheerfully. “And keep a tab open!”

“I, uh, don’t think anyone’s paying for this,” the bartender said uncertainly.

“That reminds me,” Makoto realized, “I never asked, are you a guest too?”

“Hm?” Oh yeah, I am, but I’m a bartender back home, so I kind of gravitated here.”

“What about your…boyfriend? Husband?”

The young woman laughed as she prepared the drink for the newcomer.

“I don’t know what he is to me right this second,” she said. “But he’s off doing his own thing, so I’m happy to let him be for a little bit. It’s nothing new.”

Makoto was surprised. She’d been apart from Ren for so long, and had waited anxiously for the day they’d be reunited.

“I never got your name,” she said sheepishly.

“Oh don’t worry about it,” the bartender said, waving a hand. “Name’s Tifa. Tifa Lockhart.”

“Mako—sorry, Queen. Queen,” Makoto said, catching herself.

“Oh, you’re the ones with the codenames, right?” Tifa said. “Don’t worry, Queen it is.”

“Mary,” the new girl said with a wave. “Blue Mary. I’m with Terry.”

“So, what did you mean about your guy?” Makoto asked Tifa, a bit timidly.

“Cloud and me go way back. And we love each other very much, but we’re not really “together” together, if that makes any sense.”

“I think I get ya,” Blue Mary said. “Me and Terry aren’t really official either, but we go drinking, and we’re both cute, so what’s not to like?”

“What about you, Queen?” Tifa asked. “Who are you here with?”

“My boyfriend,” Makoto said, before realizing that that didn’t tell them much. “Joker,” she added.

“Oh so you two are official,” Tifa teased.

“The one with the mask over there?” Blue Mary said, pointing at Ren. “He’s cute!”

Makoto laughed along with the two women, glad that she was getting along reasonably well without Ren.

“So he’s the one on your mind, then?” Tifa asked. Makoto hummed in affirmation.

“Something’s not quite right, I just don’t know what,” she said, uncertainly. “I’m not even sure it’s a problem with _us_.”

“Could just be the separation,” Tifa pointed out. “Long distance can be hard for any couple.”

“Oh trust me, I know,” Makoto groaned. “This isn’t our first rodeo.”

“I think I know what you mean though,” Blue Mary said, examining the ice rock in her glass. “Something does seem a bit off. Something in the air. Like something’s going to happen.”

“We are in a building full of heroes and villains,” Makoto realized. “Something must happen all the time around here!”

“Not with those giant hands around,” Tifa mused, gazing over to the main doors where Master Hand and Crazy Hand were floating. “They’d have to be pretty dumb to—what the hell?!”

Makoto jumped at the sudden outburst from Tifa.

“What is it?!” Makoto yelped. Tifa didn’t answer, she was sprinting full tilt towards the side door.

“Tifa, wait!” Queen shouted, following as fast as she could. She could tell that Blue Mary was on her heels too, which made her feel better about whatever this was.

Tifa had stopped just outside the door. The hallway was dark.

“Tifa, what was that all about?” Queen asked.

“Didn’t you see him?” Tifa asked sharply.

“See who?” Blue Mary asked. Tifa didn’t answer immediately.

“Did you see someone who isn’t supposed to be here?” Queen asked. Tifa bit her knuckle in thought.

“I don’t know,” she said. “I may have just been imagining it. You didn’t see a man in black with long silver hair?”

“Not that I recall,” Queen said, sheepishly. Blue Mary shook her head in agreement.

“You’re probably just nervous about the feeling in the air,” she suggested. “Let’s get back to the party, maybe force this Cloud guy to—”

“Wait, that’s it! Cloud may have seen him!”

“No, Tifa that’s not what I — aw, man!” Blue Mary moaned as she and Queen set off after Tifa again.

“What the hell is going on here?” Queen heard Tifa ask.

“Tifa, what is it?” Queen asked. But Tifa didn’t have to answer, because Queen saw for herself soon enough.

The party was nowhere to be found. A few of the guests remained, looking around in confusion, but all of the fighters had vanished.

Makoto’s first instinct was to ask “where did they go?” But this, she realized, was pointlessly silly as neither Tifa or Blue Mary would have any way of knowing. Her second impulse was to begin searching.

“Tifa, take the south hallway, Mary take the foyer, I’ll grab the north hall,” Queen said, finding some small comfort in stepping up to provide leadership.

Both women nodded and set off. Queen raced down the north hallway, looking for any sign of life. She knew there were combatants who hadn’t been present at the party, but even they seemed to be gone.

As Queen reached the end of the hallway, she became aware of a feeling. It wasn’t a physical feeling, although it was almost making her tingle. It was a feeling as though she was being watched.

“Tifa? Mary?” There was no answer.

Makoto didn’t like it. It was too quiet for one thing. The hallway seemed darker than it had when she had started down it, and Queen and the related powers and persona (literally) notwithstanding, she still didn’t care for the dark.

“Who’s there?” She demanded. “Show yourself!”

An echo of laughter reached her ears. She spun around, but didn’t see anyone. It seemed darker still. She turned back the way she had been facing, and almost fainted. 

A dark silhouette faced her, one that she knew too well. An armor-clad body, with a sinister black mask covering the face. Behind it, the shadow of a trickster god.

“Akechi?!”

As soon as she had cried out, the figure of the black-masked assassin vanished, but Makoto could swear that she heard another peal of deranged laughter.

A million thoughts raced through her head, competing for supremacy. She felt paralyzed. She almost didn’t hear the sound of running, followed by a battle cry.

With a shout of surprise, she threw herself to the ground, just missing the flying kick from Blue Mary.

“Queen! Oh my god, I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine, you just startled me,” Queen said, picking herself up.

“Which way did he go?”

“Who?”

“Geese! Didn’t you see him?”

“A…goose?”

“No, not a goose! Geese Howard! Blonde bastard in a martial arts getup?”

“No. Are you telling me that you saw someone other than a boy in a black mask?”

“This is getting really creepy,” Mary said. “We’d better meet back up with Tifa.”

Makoto was glad for the suggestion. They raced back up the hallway to the foyer. Tifa seemed to have had the same idea, as she was entering from the opposite side of the room.

“Guys, something is seriously wrong,” Tifa started. “I saw Sephiroth again, but there’s no sign of Cloud or anyone else.”

“We didn’t see this Sephiroth, but it seems that we’re all seeing old enemies,” Makoto said.

“What does this mean?” Blue Mary asked. “What do we do?”

“Either our old enemies have banded together, or somebody is making us think that they have,” Queen reasoned. “As for what to do about it, we get to the bottom of this and rescue our guys.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Tifa said, grinning as she put her hand forward. Queen and Blue Mary added theirs to make the formation of their new team official.

“Hold on, Ren,” Makoto thought. “I’m coming.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The search for the missing fighters begins, and our heroines make a discovery that leaves them with more unanswered questions.

Makoto didn’t know where she was. She knew where she should be, but it didn’t seem to be where she actually was. Just a moment ago, she had formed a new team to rescue the missing fighters. Logic dictated that in the span of a second, she should not have moved. Although…if she was being honest, the place she was now looked like the same room, but it was undeniably not.

For one, Tifa and Blue Mary were nowhere to be seen. For another, the decor of the room had become overwhelmingly blue. Blue carpet, walls painted blue, even the Valentine’s Day decorations that had adorned the reception hall had gone from pink and red to deep blue.

Where unsettling silence had surrounded them in the main room, Makoto could faintly hear a melancholy tune being played on a piano.

As she looked around, she spotted other inhabitants of the room.

“Welcome to the Velvet Room,” a seated elderly man with a long nose said, wiping his mouth with a napkin as he finished a slice of delectable-looking cake. “I daresay you must be surprised that we should meet again.”

This was true. Makoto had never expected to see Igor again. She could only nod in confused agreement. 

A soprano’s voice had joined the piano music in an aria.

Standing beside the table, holding a large bound volume, was the young girl Makoto recognized as Lavenza, Igor’s assistant.

“We have brought you back to this place to assist you in your efforts to rescue the Trickster,” the girl said, obviously hoping that this would clear up any confusion.

Unfortunately, Makoto was not any less in the dark. “Back? This isn’t the same place as where we met before,” Makoto said.

“This place exists between dream and reality, mind and matter,” Igor said. “Do not be fooled by appearances. It is indeed the same place where you were once imprisoned alongside your fellow thieves.”

“Do not be deceived going forward either,” Lavenza added. “You have started a path to strive for a hidden truth that will continue to be obscured as you advance. Remain resolute and the path will be open to you.”

“What sort of assistance are you offering?” Makoto said, choosing for now to worry only about what mattered at the present moment.

“We shall come to that,” Igor said. “But first, this room may only be entered by those who have forged a contract. In order to receive our aid, you must do so. Do you consent to this?” Makoto nodded. “Very good. In exchange for your relentless pursuit of the truth and unbreakable resolve, you shall have our assistance. Now then, we cannot aid you in the same way that we aided the other. For you do not possess the Wild Card, so holding and fusing multiple Personas is sadly not possible for you. But should you need a guiding hand, we shall be here.”

Before Makoto could ask how she was supposed to return when she needed help, everything went black again.

“Heeeeyyyy, Queen? Earth to Queen? You in there?”

With a jolt, Makoto’s eyes opened. Blue Mary was standing uncomfortably close to her, waving her hand in front of Makoto’s face. Makoto yelped in surprise, startling the other woman.

“Sorry,” Queen said, composing herself. “You startled me.”

“What happened just now?” Tifa asked. “You looked like you were in a trance or something.”

Queen weighed her options before deciding that time was too short to waste on fully explaining the phenomenon that was the Velvet Room, especially since she herself didn’t fully understand it. “It’s too hard to properly explain. But we need to get moving, and before we do that, we need a plan.”

“We each saw our enemies in different directions,” Tifa mused. “It could be them trying to split us up.”

“That makes sense,” Queen agreed. “So we don’t play their game and we stick together. Looks like we’ll just have to pick one to pursue first.”

“How do we pick? They’re all probably equally dangerous,” Mary pointed out.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Queen said. “We don’t have time to waste, but we need to understand who we may be going up against. So let’s all give a brief summary of the person who we thought we saw and then decide who to go after.”

“Sephiroth was Cloud’s childhood hero,” Tifa began, painful memories dredging themselves up as she spoke. “He went crazy, burned our village to the ground, and then years later almost caused a mass extinction by summoning a Meteor to strike the planet.”

Mary and Queen were stunned speechless.

“I say we go after him first,” Blue Mary said. “Geese isn’t nearly that dangerous.”

“Akechi may be bad, but he’s not that bad,” Queen agreed. “So we go after Sephiroth first. How do you recommend we approach him, Tifa?”

“We need to be careful about following him,” Tifa said. “The last time we followed him, he was manipulating us to fulfill his agenda for him.”

“Good to know,” Queen said. “Let’s start by heading in his direction and seeing if we can find any clues about what’s going on.”

The passage that Tifa had investigated earlier was still quiet and dark. Queen thought about bringing Johanna out to at least provide a little light before deciding that the darkness provided a possible tactical advantage. She couldn’t suppress a shiver at the thought of the dark despite this decision. The hallway soon branched into three paths, each one short enough that the terminus could be seen.

“These hallways are still too long for my liking,” Queen thought aloud. “Let’s keep together and investigate these one by one.”

Blue Mary and Tifa nodded their agreement, but otherwise kept silent. Taking the left fork yielded what looked to be a cafeteria of sorts, with a kitchen behind it, but otherwise no other paths. The middle path was a large lounge, much homier than the room the party had been held in. It could almost pass for a living room in an upscale apartment. A large sectional sofa dominated the space, and a gigantic entertainment center with various video game consoles occupied the entire width of one of the walls.

The final fork seemed to be dedicated more to the administrative functions of running the building. If Makoto had not known better, it would have looked like a normal office. 

“Hey, check this out,” Mary called as quietly as she could. Tifa and Queen joined her at a door labeled “Spirits.”

“It’s ajar,” Mary said, pointing at the floor.

“Someone was in here recently,” Queen said, opening the door. “But what’s this room for?”

The office was mostly full of filing cabinets, although a large computer console and desk drew the eye as well.

“Where’s Oracle when I need her?” Queen mumbled, not sure if they’d be able to make any headway with the computer. Sure enough, a password was required, and Queen didn’t want to risk locking them out or bringing attention to themselves. 

“Well then let’s look through these files,” Tifa said, “After all, somebody was in here for a reason.”

They proceeded to rifle through the cabinets, looking for signs that they’d been disturbed.

“This one has an entire drawer missing,” Queen said from her position near the floor. “But I’m not clear on what these Spirits are. The files all just seem to be a name and an image.”

“I don’t know,” Tifa said. “But if someone took an entire drawer of them, they could be dangerous.”

“Let’s get moving,” Mary said. “This place is starting to give me the creeps.”

Queen almost didn’t hear her, she had come across something disturbing.

“Queen? What is it?”

“It’s…me?” Queen held out one of the files from the cabinet she’d been investigating. A picture of her in her school uniform, clearly labeled “Makoto Niijima” along with some incomprehensible pieces of information: “Novice,” “Fist-Attack Up” and “Cost: One.”

“Let’s hang on to some of these, just in case,” Tifa said, grabbing a few more. “Who knows, maybe we can use them.”

Makoto was still shocked that she had a file in a place like this. And she wasn’t alone: there was one for each of the Phantom Thieves (including, perhaps superfluously, a file for the group as a whole), one for Igor, and one for Caroline and Justine, the twin wardens that Lavenza had been separated into during Ren’s time in Tokyo.

“Did you see any for people you know?” Makoto asked as they made their way out of the office.

“No, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t there,” Tifa said.

“I actually have a few here,” Blue Mary said. “I know some of these guys: Iori Yagami, Kyo Kusanagi, Ryo Sakazaki…”

“Wait,” Queen said, hushing Mary. “I think we’re being watched.”

The three women instantly turned their backs to each other, striking defensive positions. The darkness was not looking like such a great advantage after all.

Queen was just about to let her guard down when a sword came within inches of her face. She threw an iron-clad fist to meet it, turning it aside at the last moment. In the darkness, she could see that sickeningly familiar shape.

“Show yourself, Akechi!” She shouted. “I don’t know how you’re still alive, but I won’t let you scare me!”

“So what’s this guy’s deal?” Blue Mary asked as she and Tifa wheeled around to join Queen.

“Another Persona user, used his power to cause countless accidents and commit murder for his father so that he could gain his trust and then ruin him. Nearly killed Joker.” That was as good an explanation as she could give at the moment, but it sufficed for Tifa and Mary.

“So we have to deal with him and whatever this Persona is?” Tifa asked.

“Yes, definitely watch out for this one, it can drive you berserk.”

Akechi was waiting in the shadows still. Queen knew that he was baiting them, and as much as she didn’t want to fall for a trap, something had to be done sooner or later.

“Charge, Johanna!” The roar of the motorcycle that greeted this summons filled Makoto with confidence. She charged for Akechi, but he was gone before she could even get him in her sights.

“Queen, he’s gone that way!” She heard Tifa shout. She doubled back, turning Johanna on a dime and roaring back in the opposite direction.

He was holding his own against Tifa and Blue Mary at the same time, but something was off: Queen realized as she got closer that Akechi was no longer wearing his black mask, he was presenting himself as Crow.

“Why keep up the facade?” She wondered as she leapt off her own Persona and aimed a fist at the back of his head. At the instant that she should have connected, Akechi spun around, his sword drawn. She collided with the sword, which he then used to turn her away, just as she had deflected his attack earlier.

“So where’s this Persona we should be worrying about? Blue Mary said, aiming a kick at him. “He’s just used his sword so far!”

That was another thing that was odd about this fight: Crow had always used laser swords when battling alongside the Phantom Thieves. This was a real sword that he was using now.

“Something’s not right,” Queen replied. “For one, he might be using a different Persona…”

As if on cue, an arrow of light grazed Tifa’s arm. They all looked in the direction it came.

“Something’s definitely not right,” Queen repeated. She felt she was closer to the truth, but she had no greater understanding now. The being backing Crow up used arrows of light, but it was most certainly not Robin Hood.

It was an angel, wings and all.

Now that she had seen this, Queen was realizing one more thing: this person they were fighting was not Akechi, it was Marth, the Hero King she had chatted with during the party.

“This isn’t Akechi!” Queen announced. “It’s one of the fighters!”

“That’s just great,” Mary grunted as she dodged another blow from Marth. “But personally, I don’t think that changes the fact that he’s trying to kill us!”

She was right. Queen put aside her confusion for the time being and prepared a Freidyne blast. She ran a few paces ahead to get into better range, but before she knew it, Marth was gone.

What had happened? He had been right there! Queen looked around and an instant later realized that somehow, she had gotten completely turned around. It seemed that Tifa and Mary were having similar troubles. Marth had advanced on Tifa and caught her in a nasty looking swipe of his sword. Meanwhile the angel was raining arrows of light on Mary.

Queen took another step forward and once again found herself facing the wrong way.

“Okay, he’s using some kind of confusion spell,” Queen guessed aloud. “Try going in the opposite direction of where you want to end up!” 

Although it took some mental re-training, soon all three women were correctly oriented and facing their target. Queen prepared another Freidyne. This time, her aim was true and Marth was caught in the explosion, but the unidentified angel flew above it.

“Mary! Heads up!”

Mary took the cue and launched into the air, spinning her fists like a windmill. The angel was caught in the flurry of blows, crashing to the ground.

Tifa darted forward, her fist drawn back. “My turn!” She shouted. “Beat Rush!” A wave of rhythmic punches ensued, capped off by a shout of “Somersault!” Tifa then kicked the angel square in the chin in an elegant backflip.

“Wow,” Queen couldn’t stop herself from saying. She was liking Tifa and Mary more and more. The angel had been knocked out of commission, nowhere to be seen. Marth had staggered to his feet, but the nuclear attack had clearly taken a lot of the fight out of him.

Blue Mary advanced on him, leaping into the air with a flying kick. It landed right on his chest, pushing him down the hallway.

“Nice shot!” Queen said. “Let’s see if we can get any answers out of—”

She was interrupted by a bizarre sight. A gun like weapon had suddenly appeared in Mary’s hand.

“What the hell?” Mary wondered aloud. 

“What’s up with Akechi?” Tifa asked, pointing down the hall. Marth was on his feet, but he looked dazed, and a ring of light was encircling him, a small gap rotating along with it.

“I think…I think maybe you’re supposed to shoot him with that?” Queen suggested.

“No skin off our noses if that’s not right,” Mary said as she took aim and fired. A bolt of light sped forward, hitting Marth right as the gap passed in front.

All three women gasped as the figure of Marth vanished into thin air. In its place was one of the files.

“Goro Akechi,” Queen read as she took the file in her hand. “Advanced. Item Gravitation. Cost: One.”

“It’s like yours,” Tifa said, examining the card. “Wait, is there something on the other side?”

“Spirit Battle: Defeat the main fighter to win. Left and right controls will suddenly reverse,” Queen read aloud.

“I don’t get it,” Blue Mary said, biting her lip. “This still doesn’t tell us what a Spirit is.”

Queen nodded in agreement. “No, but I think it’s a start. Here’s my hunch: we know now that Akechi was Marth all along, or perhaps this Akechi Spirit impersonated Marth.”

“Why would he do that?” Tifa asked.

Queen shook her head. “I don’t know, perhaps the Spirit needs the body of a fighter in the competition? In any case, I don’t believe we’re actually facing our old enemies. I think that their Spirits are wreaking havoc.”

“The question is why,” Mary put in. “Are they acting of their own volition, or are they being controlled by someone?”

“And is that someone the one responsible for making the fighters vanish?” Tifa added. “More than that, everyone else at the party was gone. Were we just lucky, or were we spared for some reason?”

There were too many unanswered questions. Makoto was beginning to feel as though they’d never get to the bottom of this.

As she was lost in her thoughts, the room suddenly melted and reformed into the Velvet Room once more.

Igor sat at his table, slowly applauding Makoto, a creepy rictus across his face.

“Well done,” he said genuinely. “You have taken your first step along the path of discovery. You have seen through deception and prevailed!”

“I feel like I have more questions than I did before,” Makoto said frankly. Igor nodded solemnly.

“The path to the truth is often like that,” he said. “Only at the end will everything be resolved. Do not lose heart, for you are on the right track. Now then, the reason I summoned you here was to explain our role in more detail.”

Lavenza stepped forward, the compendium now open.

“This compendium normally contains records of a wild card’s Personas,” she explained. “But for your purposes, I will gladly record any Spirits that you find or defeat.”

“So Spirits are like Personas?” Makoto asked. This was getting interesting.

“Yes, and no,” Igor said. He seemed unaware of how infuriatingly vague that answer was. “A Spirit may offer certain powers, or may equip you with certain items. It is not a part of your soul that you summon forth, but it will be by your side lending you aid nonetheless.” 

Makoto looked down at Lavenza’s compendium at her own image. She noticed a single star at the top of the file under the word “Novice.” She inwardly winced that her own Spirit would be so weak. Making things worse, Akechi’s “Advanced” was accompanied by two stars.

Lavenza seemed to notice Makoto’s attentions.

“Do not be too concerned with the rank of the Spirit,” she said. “Each one will have its own uses as the situation demands. Some Spirits will grow as you use them. Others, like your own, will not achieve such growth but will be used in conjunction with other Spirits. It is in your best interest, therefore, to find as many as you can.”

“In certain circumstances, we will also be able to assist you in that regard,” Igor added. “Ordinarily, the Velvet Room offers a service for Personas known as Fusion. While we cannot fuse Spirits, certain Spirits can be brought together to summon another. Keep this in mind.”

As suddenly as she had entered the Velvet Room, Makoto was once again with Tifa and Blue Mary.

“Jeez, you scare me when you do that,” Blue Mary grumbled. “I don’t know what’s going through your head when that happens.”

“Sorry, it’s a lot to explain, but the short version is that I think I know what we can do with these Spirits,” Makoto said. “We need to find more of these, so let’s get to it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes, my writing has hit a wall lately. A lot of this chapter was already done, and it took me until just now to get around to wrapping it up. Same thing is going on with "The New Regulars," really. A lot of the chapter (and even the majority of the remaining chapters) is done, it's just putting the bow on it that's giving me trouble right now. Oh well. Hope you enjoy!


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